Machine for longitudinally and transversely slicing pickles and the like



March 14, 1939. R w s 2,150,735

MACHINE FOR LONGI-TUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY SLICING PICKLES ANDTHE LIKEFiled A'u .'3, 1937 r 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 14, 1939. R, D w 2,150,735

MACHINE FOR LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY SLICING PICKLES AND THE LIKEFiled Aug. 3, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I .ll

March 14, 1939. R. D. WILLIAMS MACHINE FOR LONGITUDINALLY ANDTRANSVERSELY SLICING PICKLES AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 3, 1957 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 14, 1939 MACHINE FOR LONGITUDINALLY ANDTRANSVERSELY SLECING PICKLES AND THE LIKE Ray D. Williams, Portland,Greg, assigncr to Libby; McNeill & Libby, Chicago, 111., a corporationof Maine Application August 3, 1937, Serial No. 157,181

4 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to pickle slicing machines andis more particularly a machine having for its primary object anarrangement permitting the slicing of pickles either longitudinally ortransversely, that is either lengthwise or crosswise of the pickles.

The invention relates more especially to a machine or apparatus of thetype in which manually loaded pickle carriers are, by means of aflexible endless conveyor, successively fed to stationary slicing knivesin the course of operation of the machine, it being understood that inthis reference as well as the references hereinafter to pickles, it isintended to include raw cucumbers, carrots, beets, and in fact anyvegetable or similar article capable of being divided into slices in themanner contemplated by the present machine.

Among the further objects of the invention is the provision of anapparatus in which readily interchangeable parts insure similarlyeffective operation in either the lengthwise or crosswise slicing of thecommodity.

A still further object is the provision of a cutting arrangement adaptedto'efiectively hold the articles being sliced, during the slicingoperation as well as one in which each individual knife or cutting bladeis held in a manner which will permit of its quick detachment forsharpening and in case repairs are necessary.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a pickleslicer which, in general, is of a simple, inexpensive construction,involving parts capable of ready removal for purposes of repair andsubstitution, and insuring speedy, accurate operation With these generalobjects in mind, the further and more specific objects of the inventionas well as the construction, arrangement and operation of its severalparts, will be better understood and more thoroughly appreciated fromthe following detail description thereof, in reference to theaccompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and inwhich Figure 1 .is a side view of the machine with the parts in positionfor the crosswise slicing of pickles and the like.

Figure 2' is a similar view showing a modified structure adapting themachine to the lengthwise slicing of pickles and the like.

Figures 3 is a fragmentary detail cross section taken on line 3-3 ofFigure 1.

Figure 4 is a similar view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Figure3.

Figure 6 is a detail vertical longitudinal section taken on line fi-6 ofFigure 5.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line |'l of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a vertical longitudinal section in detail taken on line 88of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a detail perspective view of the crosswise cutter and one ofthe pickle carriers with which this cutter cooperates, and

Figure 10 is a detail perspective view of the lengthwise cutter and oneof the carriers with which it cooperates.

Referring to these figures and particularly to Figures 1, 3, 5, 6 and 9,the invention proposes a machine which includes upper spaced parallelhorizontal angle bars l5 forming the longitudinal side rails of the mainframe, rigidly connected and supported by legs or uprights H5 inconnection with diagonal or inclined braces I].

The lengthwise disposed parallel angle bars i5 forming the table, arealso connected by a plate l8 forming the table top, having flanges 19along the opposite sides thereof, and this plate It may be enameled,chromium plated, or otherwise provided with a surface capable of beingreadily cleaned and maintained in a clearly, sanitary condition.

At opposite ends of the frame top, rollers 20 and 2| are mounted inbearings 22, around which an endless flexible belt 23 is trained so thatits upper run passes from the roller 20 at the receiving end of thetable to the roller 2| at the dis charge end of the table, in thedirection of the arrow 24 in Figure 1, the lower run of the belt passingin the opposite direction beneath the table top.

At the discharge end of the frame adjacent to and above roller 2|, aframe 25 rises for the support of a motor 26, the switch of which isindicated at 21. This motor, through a suitable reduction gear andthrough a chain or belt drive 28, preferably housed in a casing 29,actuates the roller 2| so that movement in the direction previouslystated is thus imparted to the belt or flexible carrier 23.

Secured at suitable spaced points upon the belt 23 are a series ofcarriers, as generally indicated at 30 in Figure 1, the details of whichappear in Figures 3, 5, 6 and 9.

Each of the carriers 30 is secured transversely across and projects atits ends laterally beyond,

the belt or flexible carrier 23, and each, held to the belt by means ofrivets and the like as seen at 3| in Figure 6, has a fiat base 32provided with a series of grooves 32 paralleling the longitudinal axisof the belt. Each carrier has side walls 30 which increase in heighttoward the rear thereof and each has a rear wall 33 which presents aseries of slots forming continuations of the base grooves 32 and aseries of upstanding teeth 33 which upper ends are enlarged to extendforwardly and thus present an undercut forward surface on the rear wallconforming somewhat to the rounded contour of the article to be sliced.all as best seen in Figure 9.

Near the discharge end of the belt and adjacent to the upright frame 25is a combined cutter and guide frame consisting of longitudinally spacedinverted U-shaped brackets 54 and 35, to the upper and side portions ofwhich are adjustably connected the laterally projecting threaded stems36 and 31 of the parallel spaced apart upper and side guide rails and39.

The forward ends of the side guide rails are laterally flared oroutwardly curved and the forward ends 4! of the top guide rails 38 areupwardly curved or flared so that as each carrier 30 approaches theforward bracket 36 of the guide and cutter or slicing frame, it passesbeneath the upper guide rails 33 and between the side guide rails 39whereby its plurality of base grooves and rear wall slots will beeffectively and certainly positioned with respect to the guide frame andwith respect to the slicing cutters or knives stationarily held in thisframe in a manner which will be presently described.

Bolted to the upper horizontal portion of the forward frame bracket 35as most plainly seen by reference to Figures 3, 5 and 6 as by means ofbolts 42 is a rearwardly tapering approximately triangular knife block33, the inclined sides of which are cut away to present a plurality ofstepped knife or blade seats inclining rearwardly and downwardly asindicated at so that each seat presents to the upper forward edge of itsrespective knife or blade 45 a bearing shoulder limiting rearwardmovement of the downwardly and rearwardly inclined cutting portion ofthe blade.

Thus each blade may be held in place by a single fastening screw 55 sothat where necessary it is an easy matter to remove the knives or bladesfor sharpening. Preferably the blades 45, as seen in Figure 9 have theirforward edges provided with a single bevel 41 and in operation as seenin Figure 6, their lower ends trail through the base grooves 32 of thecarriers as the latter pass the knives, the trailing blades engaging thepickles or other articles to be sliced and by their 3 angle with respectthereto serve to hold the article firmly against displacement, betweenthe cutting edges of the blades and the undercut in the surfaces of therear walls of the carriers, the blades passing through the slots andthus between the teeth constituting these walls.

It will be observed that the knife block 53, which is bodily removablefrom the bracket 35 by detaching bolts 5'2, tapers in the direction ofmovement of the carriers so that each pickle, as its carrier passesbeneath the knife block, is initially engaged by the two most widelylaterally spaced blades 55, provided of course the pickle is ofsufficient length to be so engaged. At any rate each pickle will beinitially engaged adjacent its opposite ends and the full force andeffect of the steadying and holding of each pickle is thus initiallybrought into play so there is no tendency of the pickle to thereaftershift or displace as it is rapidly sliced from its outer ends to itscenter. Thus a uniform slicing of each pickle is assured and as eachslice is cut it is free to separate laterally from the unsliced centralportion of the pickle, especially in view of the single bevel 51 of thecutting edges of the blades.

The brackets 33 and 35, to which the guide runners 38 and 39 areconnected so as to effectively guide the several pickle carriersvertically and laterally in insuring complete registration of the knivesor blades 45 with the base grooves and rear wall slots of the carriers,are held by means of bolts 48 and 49 to the sides of the main frame and,since the ends of the pickle carriers 35, as previously described,project laterally beyond the sides of the belt 23, the upper surface ofthe top plate I8 is preferably provided with slide rails 55 which may beof the half round form shown particularly in Figure 3 and on which theends of the pickle carriers slide so that the belt 23 to which thepickle carriers are attached is maintained above'the surface of theframe top plate l8.

Provision is preferably made for quick detachment of the belt 23 andthis may be accomplished by a quick detachable coupling 5| at anysuitable point in the belt, as indicated in Figure 1, any one of themore well known belt couplings being capable of adoption for thispurpose.

Thus in order to easily and quickly displace the entire arrangementpreviously described for slicing pickles crosswise, it is merelynecessary to remove the guide and cutter frame by detaching bolts 43 and49 thereof from the main frame so that the brackets 34 and 35, withknife block 43 and the pickle carrier guides 38 and 39 may be removed asa unit. Then by detaching the belt coupling 5i the entire belt 23 withits plurality of pickle carriers 30 may be withdrawn from around therollers 20 and 2|.

The purpose of the above is to permit of the use of substitute parts ofgenerally the same nature providing for the longitudinal slicing ofpickles. In this arrangement a similarly coupled but somewhat morenarrow belt 52 is employed, having a plurality of pickle carriers 53securely fastened thereon which are substantially less in width than thebefore described carriers 30 and elongated lengthwise of the belt inview of the necessity to accommodate the pickles or objects to be slicedwith their longitudinal axes parallel to that of the belt.

Thus in the modified construction provided for lengthwise slicing thebelt 52 will preferably slide upon a single fiat slide rail 54 bolted asat 55 in Figure 4 through the top plate l8 along the median line of thelatter.

Moreover, as shown in Figures 2, 4, '7, 8 and 10, the belt 52 may beeasily applied around the rollers 20 and 2| after installation of thecentral flat slide rail 54, and the belt connected by its couplingindicated at 55 in Figure 2 so that the upper run of the belt rests uponthe slide rail for substantially the fulllength of its upper run andneeds but angular guide rails 51 to engage the sides of the carriers 53for effective guidance of the latter.

The carriers 53 are preferably formed of plates with bent up sides 58,and with a series of rods 59 laid in spaced parallel relation upon theupper surface of such plates and spot welded or otherwise rigidlysecured thereto so that these rods form between them the base grooves.At the rear ends of the carriers, the rods thereof are bent upwardly andslightly forwardly and doubled upon themselves to form a series ofteeth, the series of which constitute the rear wall whose inclinationeffectively holds the pickles in cooperation with the inclinedstationary knives to be presently described. These upwardly bentinclined and doubled rear ends of the rods are best seen at 66 inFigures 8 and 10.

The brackets BI and 62 are shaped and attached to the frame by bolts 63-and 64 in the same manner as the before described brackets 34 and 35 andthe angular guide rails 51 are carried by threaded adjusting rods 65 and66 adjustably bolted to the sides and tops of these brackets as shown inFigure 4.

The knife block 61 as best seen in Figures 8 and 10 has a cross piece 68by means of which it is bolted to the top portions of the brackets 62and 62 and, like the before described knife block 43, is tapered in thedirection of movement of the pickle carrier so as to present steppedsurfaces upon which the upper ends of the knives or blades 69 aresecured by single bolts 10 against inclined shoulders which eifectivelyprevent rocking movement of the blades as they pass through the pickles.The knife block 61 is thus the same as the knife block 43 on asubstantially reduced scale, being reduced both in length and width inview of its necessity to support but a few blades 69 for thelongitudinal slicing of pickles as compared to the blades 45 of theblock 43 for the cross slicing ofthe pickles.

Otherwise than as just above stated the operation is exactly the samefor the longitudinal slicing of the pickles as it is for the crossslicing thereof, the pickles being sliced from the sides to the centerso that the slices are free to fall away and clear the knives or bladesin the course of the slicing operation.

Obviously in the use of either the longitudinal or cross slicingequipment, the pickle carriers .in roundingthe roller 2! at thedischarge end of the apparatus, discharge the sliced pickles in adownward direction and this discharge may be effected upon a conveyor 7l', a portion of which is shown in Figures 1 and 2, common of course toboth lengthwise and crosswise slicing equipment, by means of which thesliced pickles may be transported to a distant point. In the course ofmovement of the sliced pickles along conveyor II, it is obvious theslices may be inspected by attendants and, the side or end piecesremoved where the sliced pickles otherwise pass inspection.

It is obvious that in connection with either the lengthwise or crosswiseslicing of pickles according to the present invention, the effectiveguidance of the pickle carriers by means of guides rigidly in a unitwith the slicing blades or knives, insures a complete effectiveregistration at all times as between these knives or blades and the basegrooves and rear wall slots of the several carriers so that there islittle if any danger of breakage of parts and the cutting edges of theblades or knives will be preserved except from ordinary dulling in use.Any individual blades or knives may be easily and quickly replaced bydetaching the single holding screw thereof, while it is obvious that bydetaching the knife block, substitution of the complete knife assemblyis easily effected. With these collective features it is obvious themachine as a whole is not only capable of effective operation with speedand certainty, but will be durable in use, may be easily and quicklycleaned, and is adaptable to quick interchange of parts for longitudinalas well as cross slicing of the pickles.

What is claimed is:

1. A slicing machine comprising a main frame including a horizontal topportion, a pair of rollers at opposite ends of the frame, a detachablycoupled endless member trained around said rollers with its upper runmovable above and along the top portion of the main frame, a series ofcarriers secured along said endless member for movement with the upperrun thereof from the receiving to the discharge end of the frame, aframe rising from the main frame adjacent to the discharge end thereof,a motor supported by the latter frame and having geared connection withthe roller at the discharge end of the frame, a combined guide andcutter frame including inverted u shaped brackets detachably connectedto the main frame at longitudinally spaced points near its discharge endand each having portions extending above and across the upper run of theendless member to bridge the moving carriers, guide rails each havingupstanding and outstanding rods respectively extending through, andadjustably in connection with the top and side portions of both of saidbrackets to engage and effectively guide the successive carriers intheir movement through the guide frame, the guide rails also formingbracing connections between the said brackets, a knife block detachablysupported in said guide frame, and a plurality of blades connected toand depending from the knife block for cooperation with the carriers toslice articles carried by the latter, the carriers having verticallyslotted upright walls, the slots of which register with the said blades.

2. A slicing machine comprising a main frame including a horizontal topportion, a pair of rollers at opposite ends of the frame, a detachablycoupled endless member trained around said rollers with its upper runmovable above and along the top portion of the main frame, a series ofcarriers secured along said endless member for movement with the upperrun thereof from the receiving to the discharge end of the frame, aframe rising from the main frame adjacent to the discharge end thereof,a motor supported by the latter frame and having geared connection withthe roller at the discharge end of the frame, a combined guide andcutter frame including 'inverted U-shaped brackets detachably connectedto the main frame at longitudinally spaced points near its discharge endand each having portions extending above and across the upper run of theendless member to bridge the moving carriers, guide rails each havingupstanding and outstanding rods respectively extending through, andadjustably in connection with the top and side portions of both of saidbrackets to engage and efiectively guide the successive carriers intheir movement through the guide frame, the guide rails also formingbracing connections between the said brackets, a knife block detachablysupported in said guide frame, and a plurality of blades connected toand depending from the knife block for cooperation with the carriers toslice articles carried by the latter, the carriers having verticallyslotted upright Walls, with the slots of which the blades areregistered, each of the said walls presenting an undercut surface towardthe blades and the blades being supported at a trailing angle with thecarriers for cooperation with the undercut surfaces of the carrier wallsto firmly hold articles within the carriers during the slicingoperation.

3. A slicing machine comprising a main frame including a horizontal topportion, an endless member detachably in connection therewith having itsupper run movable lengthwise on the top portion ofthe' frame, means fordriving said endless member, a guide and cutter frame detachably inconnection with the said upper portion of the main frame including apair of inverted U-shaped brackets bridging the upper run of the endlessmember and in longitudinally spaced relation, a plurality of articlecarriers secured along the endless member for passage with the latterthrough said brackets, guide rails extending along and carried by bothbrackets to engage and guide the carriers in their passage therethroughand having outstanding and upstanding adjusting rods in adjustableconnection with the side and top portions of the brackets, a knife blockin detachable connection with the top portion of one of said bracketsand having its sides tapering in the direction of movement of thecarriers and provided with series of stepped blade seats, and bladesdetachably secured at their upper ends in said seats and dependingangularly from the block in the direction of movement of thecarriersfwhereby theen'tire guide frame including the guide rails andcutter block with its cutters" may be detached as a unit, the carriershaving means forming generally upright walls and presenting a series ofslots in line with the blades.

4. In a slicing machine, a plurality of moving article carriers, eachhaving side walls and a generally flat face, a plurality of rods securedin parallel relation upon the upper face of the base to form parallelgrooves therebetween from the front to the rear, the rear ends of saidrods havin upwardly bent portions forming an upstanding article supportpresenting a plurality of slots in alignment with the said grooves, theupwardly bent rear portions of the rods being forwardly inclined anddoubled upon themselves with their extremities depending against therear portion of the flat face of the carrier.

RAY D. WILLIAMS.

